News: Feds targeting deceptive auto dealers

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Have you ever seen one of those loud and obnoxious commercials where a skeezy looking car salesman spends the entire 30-second spot yelling at the camera about ridiculous deals that sound too good to be true? While I usually change the channel when those commercials come on, apparently enough people did not and got duped into visiting these deals and then actually purchasing a vehicle that the Federal Trade Commission has decided to look into the issue. Dubbed "Operation Ruse Control," the FTC will be cracking down on deceptive advertising and financing practices as well as other forms of fraud committed by auto dealers around the US.

There is certainly no shortage of anecdotes of people going into dealers, spurred by promises of super cheap cars or ridiculously lenient financing terms, only to be given the bait and switch routine when they sit down to sign the paperwork. On top of that, there have been numerous recent stories of dealers self-financing deals and then recalling buyers to essentially tell them that their loans were not approved in order to gouge them for more money on the monthly payment. The most recent round of unscrupulous behavior to make the news has been Dodge dealers taking orders on Challenger and Charger Hellcats that they not only know they do not have in stock, but will likely not ever be able to order. This kind of behavior is precisely why Americans absolutely despise the process of buying cars and why people seem to be willing to support the idea of direct sales on certain cars, a process that Tesla has used to great effect since it started deliveries on the Model S.

The Feds have already filed suit against several dealerships as well as financial services companies that have been accused of the alleged behavior and the campaign will continue until this kind of behavior stops. Best of all, because the cases are often being brought as lawsuits, the FTC is actually forcing the defendants in the cases to pay back ill-gotten gains.

Click past the jump to read the press release and learn more about "Operation Ruse Control."